ROGUE GARAGES WARNED: THE CRACKDOWN STARTS HERE.

18/1/01.

A pioneering Scottish drive to crack down on rogue
garages, involving 12 local authorities led by Dundee
City Council, is being launched today (January 18).

The safety drive for consumers will include methods 
like cars being put into garages to check on the 
standards of work and the inspection of vehicles 
for sale on forecourts.
A fleet of cars, recovery vehicle, tools, equipment
and vehicle examiners will be made available for the
authorities to carry out action in their own areas.

The Vehicle Inspectorate are also involved to provide 
technical expertise.

Dundee City Council is leading 11 other councils in 
the project, which has been awarded funds by the 
Department of Trade and Industry. Local authorities
in the scheme are Dundee, Glasgow, Angus, Fife, 
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Highland, Argyll and Bute,
Moray, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Orkney.

The Office of Fair Trading has identified problems with 
car servicing as being of extreme concern to the consumer.
Complaints are on the up, with an accompanying decline 
in consumer confidence in this area.

In the past, many councils and their trading standards 
departments have found it difficult to implement a 
programme of work given the requirements of expertise
and resources. The new scheme is designed to tackle 
these problems.

Dundee City councillor Neil Glen, convener of the 
Environmental and Consumer Protection committee, 
said, "Safety is our number one concern and this scheme 
follows on from a number of projects we have carried out
in Dundee.

"This new approach is designed to help motorists and 
hinder those who want to rip them off."

Consumer affairs minister Kim Howells added, "Local action
is needed to tackle the rogues and shoddy services. 
Consumers have a right to know that they will get good
service when they entrust their cars to garages.

"This initiative will allow them to shop with more 
confidence and should make a big difference to Scottish
consumers - and of course to good garages who are 
undermined by the rogues."

Ends




Ministerial statement


I am delighted that this unique Scottish service 
against dodgy car servicing is up and running today.
Because of this joint DTI and trading standards 
initiative, Scotland will now have a dynamic service
which will tackle rogue traders and look after the 
interests of consumers

Trading Standards services play an essential role 
in the economic wellbeing of consumers and communities.
Their valuable work is often much more effective when 
there is cross-boundary co-operation, with the service
in one local authority working with other authorities 
against the rogue traders.  That is why the Government 
launched a new fund to help cross-boundary co-operation.
In Scotland twelve local authorities joined forces to put 
forward an exciting proposal: to set up a special service
which would be available throughout Scotland to test 
vehicle servicing and make sure that consumers were 
getting a fair deal. We were delighted to award the 
project a grant of £75,000 to support the venture.

The OFT has identified the car servicing sector as one 
of extreme concern to consumers.  At national level we 
have set up a car servicing task force to look at options
for improving the performance of the sector.  But local 
action is needed to tackle the rogues and the shoddy 
services. Consumers have a right to know that they will 
get good service when they entrust their cars to garages.
This initiative will allow them to shop with more confidence
and should make a big difference to Scottish consumers - 
and of course to good garages who are undermined by the 
rogues.  

Dr Kim Howells
Minister for Consumers and Corporate Affairs